


Sweethearts

by SkellyTelly



Series: Undertale One Shots [4]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: College AU-ish, M/M, Mpreg, Pregnancy, skelepreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-21 03:30:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11935401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkellyTelly/pseuds/SkellyTelly
Summary: How Stretch and Papyrus handle a stressful night (sorry, no, not with sex)





	Sweethearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CyanideCupcake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyanideCupcake/gifts).



> This got incredibly cheesy to which I apologize for in advance.
> 
> This is my trade back to Cyanidecupcake!

The evening was just starting to set in as Stretch drove up onto campus, the sky taking on a painted array of warm hues. Really, Stretch was cursing the fact he was getting here at this time, an hour  _ later _ than normal. With having to really work hard at his job, he was asked to stay behind a little longer when he was supposed to get off. All the while, never got to send a text to Papyrus until he got off the clock. And from what he saw, Papyrus had not texted him back since.

 

Stretch knew that Papyrus was surely to be annoyed with him, and he was going to have to act fast on how he was going to make it up to his sweetheart. Perhaps some nicecream?

 

He found his way to the heart of the campus, the student center. Being lucky to find a spot to park along the sidewalk just in front of the building. Though, the reason it was so easy was probably because it had gotten so much later and now many other commuting students already left.

 

Great, time to send another text and await for the lecture he might be in for.

 

Pulling out his phone, he sent the text… Only for it to timeout and not send. Okay, this would happen from time to time when the signal got out of whack and they would be in some weird limbo of cell service, despite the bars saying otherwise. He tried again, and wouldn’t you know, failed to send.

 

He decided to just call Papyrus, because when all else failed, they could make the most basic of phone calls with just 1 bar on extended service.

 

Though it didn’t even ring, just went straight to voicemail.

 

Did… Papyrus turn his phone off? Why? What reason…

 

Now, Stretch was never one to work himself into worrying, but a sinking feeling did start to dwell on him.

 

No no, there has to be a reason behind this, Stretch was going to seek it out.

 

He got out of the car himself and marched up to the student center, he told himself that he could start to panic if Papyrus was nowhere to be found here.

 

Stretch walked inside, with how late it had gotten, there was nearly no one here except for folks wanting to sit somewhere and chat a while. He looked to the tables, spotting maybe a handful of students, all sat at different tables and either doing work or chatting with some friends. Suppose this was a good enough place to get work done, if one didn’t mind some background noise, at least there was coffee.

 

Scanning over the people, he then turned to the lounge section, and an immediate rush of relief washed over him as he spotted the back of his lover’s skull. Seemed like he was sat there with a few other people and chatting it up with them.

 

Good, Papyrus-his family was safe and sound, there was no need to panic… Except now he had to brace himself for what could be potentially Papyrus getting rather heated with him about being  _ late _ .

 

That was honestly such a lesser concern by this point, with having feared the worst of someone kidnapping and hurting him, he was more than ready to take the heat on having worked overtime without properly giving a heads up.

 

Stretch strolled over, getting spotted by one of the girls that was sat on the coffee table in front of Papyrus, it took a moment after for Papyrus to finally turn to face Stretch, and then--

 

“Darling!!” Papyrus excitedly exclaimed, propping his arm up on the back of the couch, “You’re okay!”

 

Stretch was taken off guard from that reaction, “... I’m okay? Papyrus, I tried texting and calling you.”

 

Papyrus looked curious, “My phone didn’t ring at all.” taking a moment to rummage his pocket, he pulled it out, “... Whoopsie! I think it ran out of battery.” he put the phone right back into his pocket, “Darling, mind helping me up?”

 

Stretch nodded as he walked around the couch, offering out his hand to take Papyrus by the arm, he helped to heave him up onto his feet. With Papyrus having gotten quite large from the pregnancy, he was only starting now to have trouble getting up and down easily. After sharing some pleasantries with the college pals Papyrus had made, the two took their leave, Stretch offering to take Papyrus’s backpack so the guy could have a break from lugging the heavy books and binders around for the rest of the evening.

 

“So, you’re not mad with me?” Stretch finally asked as he popped open the trunk to drop the bag in.

 

“ _ Mad _ ? Why would I be mad?? I know you’re working hard to help support me and the baby!” Papyrus responded with such a chipper tune, “Plus, I got to hang out a little more with my friends!”

 

Stretch exhaled through his nose, “How the hell did I manage to get someone as good as you?”

 

“Well how did I manage to get someone as  _ fantastic _ as  _ you _ ?”

 

Stretch laughed as he slammed the trunk shut, coming over to Papyrus, who leaned against the side of the car, he gave him a loving kiss, “I love you so much, honeybun.” his hand having come up to rest on Papyrus’s belly, which jiggled when he chuckled.

 

“I love you too.” Papyrus responded, he placed both his hands over Stretch’s, it was simple moments like this the two just simply stood silently and enjoyed one another’s closeness.

 

_ Grrrlll _

 

Stretch’s eyes opened wide in surprise, meanwhile Papyrus’s face flushed rather embarrassed, “Aww, bun? You haven’t  _ eaten _ anything yet?”

 

“Oh hush! I was waiting until we got home to make us some dinner!” Papyrus pouted.

 

Laughing and stepping back, Stretch pulled his keys out of his pocket, “Aw, why don’t we just grab something to take home to eat? It’s pretty late to be cooking something.”

 

As much as Papyrus wanted to protest, he could not stop his stomach from talking and making the decisions for him in his mind, “I… I honestly would really like some ice cream and french fries...”

 

“Now that sounds like a great idea, c’mon, let’s hit up the nearest  _ Glam n’ Nice _ .” Stretch got into the car with Papyrus, starting it up and driving out onto the road.

 

* * *

 

This had been how the dynamic between these two worked for awhile now, Stretch worked at his dead end job to make ends meet, while Papyrus focused on his college education. And on top of that, the two were expecting a child together.

 

Having met in highschool, the two became sweethearts and continued onward into adulthood as lovers, while keeping in mind that they both had plans of their own to follow, Papyrus wanting to go to college and take the nursing program, while Stretch had been trying to get his music to hit and make them plenty more money. Though, he had yet to get a proper gig that wanted for someone to play a guitar and sing, he had even offered doing it for free at times, only to be upstaged by someone with some more pizazz than him. He was too tame, too humble, too average.

 

So as way to keep them afloat, he had a job at a warehouse, which seemed to provide enough of a stable income, but just enough for the two of them. Papyrus was lucky enough to have a scholarship give him almost a free ride,  _ almost _ being the keyword as many other expenses were still things needed from them.

 

It was just near the beginning of Papyrus’s senior status at college, that it was found that he was pregnant. Of all the times, it was at learning this which put the two into a bind. Life was comfortable enough just the two of them making the money they needed and then some, but a baby? It was a tough discussion to have, as while Stretch did try to keep an open mind and be more than helpful to Papyrus for whatever he decided, it was a constant hope in the back of his head that Papyrus would just… Put this off until they were more stable.

 

Of course, that is not how things went, so in hopes to help support them, sacrifices were made. The biggest one being: Papyrus selling his own car to help with expenses. This only caused more strain, having only one car, there was a lot of cooperation involved with one having a full time job and the other being a full time student. They somehow managed it all, and somehow made a routine that worked, but damn if it wasn’t draining. What was left to them, was very little time that they already lacked in from the start, to spend together and spend relaxing. They did have breaks, but anytime they had time off was spent right into some other errands or doctor’s appointments, or taking care of bills just so they were left with enough money to support them.

 

Had it not been for Stretch’s expert balancing of money, the two might have gone completely broke by now. Everything was saved and divided up properly: money for bills, money for school, money for groceries, money for the baby, any and all necessities that needed to be covered. It was the “money for whatever we like” that was always scraping the bottom of the barrel, hell, sometimes that went straight to being divided up for the other necessities.

 

This may not have been all too ideal, but the two managed to keep being happy together.

 

\----

 

Stretch came out of the bathroom, having showered and washed away all the sweat and grime accumulated over the day, and with little to no energy left in him, proceeded to slink to bed and flop down beside Papyrus. And he just about would have fallen asleep right then and there too, had Papyrus not spoken up and got his attention before slipping out of consciousness:

 

“Stretch, I think the baby is going to be coming soon.”

 

“ _ What? _ ” that was sure one way to knock someone back to their senses, “Papyrus?”

 

“No no, I mean soon, not right now.”

 

Stretch simply stared at him, “... Papyrus, please.” Sleep addling his mind, it was not easy to really tell if Papyrus was  _ meaning what someone would simply take away from that _ or if Papyrus was  **_being actually literal_ ** .

 

“Exams are next week, and I’m getting close to being due, I’ve been getting contractions on and off--”

 

“Yeah, but those are like, fake contractions, you don’t gotta worry about the baby coming until your water breaks.”

 

“Noo, they are not  _ “fake contractions”, _ they’re really real! They’re still contractions in the uterus which is thinning my cervi--”

 

“Ah okay okay, I know, you don’t gotta get technical.” As much as Stretch tried to keep himself informed on the complexities of pregnancy, some things he was more comfortable with no visualizing.

 

“They have been more consistent throughout the days, and I’m worried that I’m going to end up having the baby before I get to my exams. And I cannot fail my exams, I’ve worked too much-YOU’VE worked too much for me to fail and have to take the classes all over for another semester while ALSO taking care of a baby and having to manage work and-and--”

 

“Papyrus. Breathe.”

 

It was during all this fussing that Stretch could see Papyrus talking more than he was taking breaths in, making him start to hyperventilate. With things starting to counteract one another and being so close together, it was a genuine concern as to what would be done if the baby’s untimely arrival interfered with Papyrus’s education.

 

Papyrus now began to slow his breathing, taking more conscious breaths, but the fears were truly starting to hit hard with him as Stretch saw him shaking like a leaf.

 

“Stretch… Stretch I’m so sorry…”

 

This got the overworked and downright exhausted skeleton to sit himself up, mustering the strength and energy to be awake and now console his sweetheart, “You don’t gotta apologize, look, college might be rough, but they make exceptions all the time. Papyrus, you’re pregnant, you’ve been pregnant throughout the whole semester, and haven’t missed a single damn day. You gotta be real proud for that! And they’re for sure to work with you to maybe make up the work online or at another time…” Dammit, no matter the encouragement he gave, Papyrus was starting to cry, and Stretch had to now start reaffirming him more with bringing him in for a close embrace.

 

“You’re gonna tell me, that they’re gonna say to your face, while you got a precious little baby in your arms, that you’re gonna not have enough credits to graduate by the end of the following spring semester? Cause if that’s so, I will personally take leave from work and tell them all to  _ shove it _ .”

 

Papyrus choked out a laugh, nose stuffy as he give an attempt to sniff and rub at his eyes.

 

“We’ll call up your brother, he’s got connections, get a good lawyer, and sue their asses to then pay off all the student loans.”

 

“Russ…”

 

“I’m being serious though, there’s just no way they can treat as great a student as yo--”

 

Stretch shut his mouth tight when he felt Papyrus grasp his arm, clutching it firmly.

 

“R-russ, t-time this please.”

 

He was a bit caught off guard, but he quickly tried to make up for the lost seconds, stammering until he then started to count aloud seconds. It was around 20 seconds before Papyrus unclenched his hand and was breathing a little normally again.

 

“That bad?” Stretch asked.

 

“Mm… They’ve been worse… That was… Kinda benign.”

 

It was hard to say what that could have meant, while on one hand Stretch did not want to panic and assume the worst, but he also did not want to seem too lax about this when Papyrus was going to need him the most. He was simply having to go off Papyrus’s word and see how he reacted in order to get an idea for how serious to take the situation.

 

“D… Do you need anything..?” Stretch pathetically offered.

 

With Papyrus now relaxing, he leaned himself onto Stretch, not saying much. And if there’s anything that could be said, a quiet Papyrus was far more to be worried over than a talkative one.

 

“Papyrus, talk to me, please?”

 

He didn’t respond, and instead, buried his face into his shoulder.

 

Stretch allowed for Papyrus to simply cling to him, as whatever helped to soothe him was what he wanted most for his love. Still, he searched in his mind for ways to bring more comfort to him.

 

“... Maybe it’s…  _ Stress? _ I mean, you got a lot weighing on your mind, I’m sure of it. You got to think about all the exams and you’re studying all the material, it’s gotta be hard so, maybe because you’re stressing out… That… Could be what is setting off your contractions?”

 

While a shot in the dark, one tidbit of knowledge he retained, as well as advice given on to him, would be to help keep Papyrus from stressing so much since that could easily stress out the baby, and then lead to more problems. Far be it that Papyrus ever got stressed out that often, but it was more than reasonable given the circumstances they were in.

 

“... Russ I’m sorry.”

 

“Honbun, we all get stressed, you don’t gotta be sorry for it either, you’ve got college, you’re having a baby--”

 

“If I wasn’t having this baby, then I wouldn’t be! And nor would you!”

 

That caught Stretch completely off guard, “What--”

 

“Admit it! Because of me, life has been so much harder! You haven’t gotten to do anything for yourself, and it’s because of me! You drive me to and from school, you drive me to my appointments, we’re either shopping for groceries or baby supplies, you literally have not had a break from beginning to end of this semester, all because of this baby!”

 

Papyrus was getting mad, almost furious, and it was a little unnerving having him start to raise his voice like this.

 

“I haven’t seen you pick up your guitar in weeks! And why? Because you’re too tired! And I’m just making it worse right now by keeping you up from sleeping-you have bags under your eyes! You do so much more for me than I do for you, and all I ever do is make others work more for me, and I--”

 

“Papyrus--”

 

“--I’m a burden! I know I am, I’m so selfish and never think--”

 

“Papyr--”

 

“--I’m TERRIBLE! Why?! Why Russ?? Why do you still put up with me!?”

 

Tears were simply streaming down Papyrus’s face, which was flush with blue and contorted with the painful emotions he was unearthing. Seeing Papyrus so upset made it hard for even Stretch to speak, he wanted to interrupt, tell him to stop, but he couldn’t possibly raise his voice back up.

 

Now though, there was a silence as they sat there, even Papyrus was shocked with all the words that suddenly felt the need to overflow from being bottled up. Stretch stared on in some daze as he took the break to consider overall Papyrus had said and how he was to start his rebuttal.

 

“B… Because…” Great way to start, “... Because I love you? And… I’ve loved you for years now? Papyrus… My dream of being some singer, playing guitar, up on a stage was nothing more than something I just… Came up with on the spot when I was in highschool and trying to choose what electives I wanted to take… It was nothing more than me thinking how great it was to have a voice that could be the inspiration to a large audience… And yet, at the talent show… I choked up, I couldn’t handle the crowd, I forgot my chords, I slurred some words… So when I ran out of there, all hot and embarrassed… Who do you think came after me to help me calm down?”

 

Papyrus looked up at him with a solemn face.

 

“... It was you… And you told me to never give up, never stop believing, and that you’d stay by me no matter what. Through thick and thin, and that’s how it’s been… And you know what, I intend to do the same for you. Cause that day, I had a new dream… That dream was  **_you_ ** . Course, I still had my music dream that I wanted to keep trying for, but many months back, when you told me you were pregnant and you wanted to become a parent, I realized that it was at this point I had to make a choice… And I went with the dream that I knew that was gonna last and that was gonna be all the more rewarding.”

 

In a rather cheesy sign of affection, Stretch placed his hand on Papyrus’s tummy, “I chose you… Two.” He bumped his head with Papyrus’s, “You’re not a burden, Papyrus. You’re what gets me outta bed in the morning, you’re what makes me so happy and makes me laugh and feel so much pride and you make me wanna do the best I can. You inspire and motivate me and I do what I do because I can’t express to you in words how thankful I am and how much I love you.”

 

Papyrus stared up in awe at Stretch, the tears renewing and flowing down his cheeks even more.

 

“... Sorry, I got… Long winded there.” Stretch smiled, it was at this point when his voice was lowered that he realized the strain that was put on it, furthermore, he too had started to cry somewhere in that spiel of his, “Um… S-so…”

 

“Thank you, Russ, thank you.” Papyrus wrapped his arms around Stretch, which gave him a wash of relief as he hugged back, “... But, I don’t want you giving up on your music all together…”

 

Stretch softly sighed, “Yeah, but… I mean, I’ll play music again for sure, just probably gotta wait til we get a little more stable… I don’t think I’d be much of a “ _ going on tour _ ” kinda guy, I like the open mic nights at Grillby’s.”

 

Papyrus looked Stretch in the face and smiled, “... Stretch, do you remember the time you serenaded me outside my bedroom window?”

 

Stretch looked surprised, but then started to laugh, “Oh what, you mean how I literally walked all the way to your house, carrying my guitar on my back, jumped through several people’s yards, just to get to yours and start to play, only  _ then _ to have your dad get so pissed at me he threatened to call the cops and then I got chased out by your neighbor’s dog.”

 

“Aww, well yes, I do remember all that, but… Do you remember the song it was you sang to me?”

 

Stretch groaned, “It was something cheesy, that much I know.”

 

“Do you… Remember how it goes?”

 

“I remember the words, don’t remember the chords too well.”

 

“... Would you mind… Singing it to me… Again?”

 

Stretch grimaced, “Ahhh, wouldn’t you want a less…  _ Old and cringey _ song as that?”

 

“Stretch, that song is not nearly as old and cringey as some of the other music that you and I both listened to!”

 

Stretch sighed, “Alright, but it might be a little different this time around since we don’t got your dad to tell me to  _ “sod off” _ or a dog to bite my ass.”

  
Papyrus giggled, but relaxed back into bed. Stretch began to snap his finger, trying to time out a slow beat and let the words flow: “ _ The power of love is a curious thing… _ ”


End file.
